‘Sons of Anarchy’: Smoke and Dreams [Review]

Sons of Anarchy aired another gripping episode on Tuesday, October 14 on FX, entitled “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em,” which smoked out two of the club’s biggest dilemmas and shattered dreams in the process. First, dreamer and loyal SAMCRO member, Juan Carlos Ortiz (Juice), who is played with flair by Theo Rossi, found himself back in the MC’s clutches. Then, Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) found herself unraveling as a result of her unforgivable actions and the toll it has taken is finally too much for her to bear. The FX series is no-holds barred as the Sons of Anarchy barrels toward its inevitable conclusion.

Following the tense closing sequence in Episode 5 between Juice and Gemma, Episode 6 of Season 7 of Sons of Anarchy opened with the resolution to that inevitable standoff. After deciding not to kill Gemma, Juice hit the road in Gemma’s SUV with an eye on getting to Mexico. While Gemma found herself hiking to a truck stop in her customary spike-heeled boots. Has anyone else wondered how she manages to walk let alone hike 12 miles in those torture devices? After Gemma made it to the truck stop, she encountered waitress and single mother, Gertie, who was played by Glee‘s Lea Michele. Gemma also resumed her audible dialogue with Tara’s spirit while she waited for Wendy (Drea de Matteo) to come to her rescue, which Michele’s Gertie overheard. Finally, Gertie called her on it and Gemma told the truth while managing to obscure her guilt. The two women ultimately ended up bonding on mutual loss, being mothers, and shattered dreams. As a sidenote, was anyone else relieved that Sons of Anarchy resisted the temptation to break out in musical chorus just because they had a Glee star as a guest star? No offense to either Michele or Sagal, who started her career as a back-up singer for the iconic Tina Turner, but the Sons of Anarchy sing-along hour is not needed as part of its swan song.

Gemma’s interaction with Gertie was important on several levels. It was the first time that Gemma addressed and admitted her culpability in the murder of Tara (Maggie Siff), and bared her soul (to a point) to someone about how her actions have set a chain of horrible events in motion. Perhaps she felt safe in doing so because she would likely never see Gertie again, but will that in fact end up being the case? Will Michele’s Gertie make another appearance before the end of Sons of Anarchy? If she does, will she be Gemma’s undoing or savior?

As Sons of Anarchy smoked out its biggest dilemmas and shattered dreams while racing toward its finish line, Juice found himself seeking out Alvarez (Emilio Rivera) and the Mayans in order to gain safe passage south of the border. He offered them a combination of money, Gemma’s SUV, and all-access information on SAMCRO as his fee. The fact that Juice had Gemma’s vehicle tipped his hand and he found himself locked up with Nero (Jimmy Smits). Unbeknownst to Juice and Nero, Alvarez was letting Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) know exactly where he could find his fugitive MC member.

When Wendy and Unser (Dayton Callie) finally made it to the truck stop to retrieve Gemma, they had big news for the matriarch. Triad leader Lin (Kenneth Choi) had been arrested on drug charges, and the Charming police needed Gemma’s statement that the Chinese killed Tara. Mama Bear Morrow claimed she does not work with police, but Jax told her it as an opportunity to make Lin pay for Tara’s death and he would not be able to strike a deal with authorities. After Gemma reluctantly told her story to Sheriff Jarry (Annabeth Gish), she demanded that Unser remove himself and his belongings from her land ASAP.

As episode 6 of Season 7 concluded, Sons of Anarchy continued to smoke out its biggest dilemmas and shattered dreams with the ending sequences, which found Gemma confronted by Nero, who just spent the day in Mayan lock-up alongside Juice. In the process, Nero learned that Juice had Gemma’s SUV and he wanted to know why she had helped out a known fugitive from the MC. Her subsequent breakdown in Nero’s arms after learning that Jax and the club have found Juice may have just sealed her own fate, as well as Juice’s. Has Nero finally put the pieces together and concluded Gemma murdered her son’s wife? If he has, will he be the one who ultimately rats her out or will he attempt to be her savior? Will Juice come clean with Jax about Tara’s murder to save his own life or will his fate be sealed? How will the truth about Tara’s death and Gemma’s actions finally come to light as Sons of Anarchy races toward its finish line? Tune in and find out as the final episodes of the critically acclaimed, cable ratings darling are broadcast on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on FX.